


i still feel the same about you

by kaatiekinss



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Pop Tate's Chocklit Shoppe, Rekindling, S5 Speculation, Slow Dancing, Varchie!Centric, lots of feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:55:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28985211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaatiekinss/pseuds/kaatiekinss
Summary: “Long day?” She says, taking the damp cloth and wiping down the counter. He swallows nervously but sits down on a barstool when she smiles and tilts her head to let him know he can relax.“Yeah. You could say that.” He sits down heavily, and she can see, in the hunch of his shoulders and the tension in his jaw, that Archie Andrews still carries much more than he was ever meant to.
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	i still feel the same about you

**Author's Note:**

> Idk where this inspo is coming from but I don't hate it. Anyways, have this little thing. More than a drabble, less than a one shot. Really just some vague and unspecific s5 spec. Veronica's POV.

He comes in just before closing. White, sweat-dampened t-shirt, Levi’s, and leather, steel-toed, work boots. She has his order ready, having memorized it long ago. Cheeseburger, well done, with bacon, side of onion rings, and a chocolate milkshake, with honey mustard dressing on the side.

It still makes her chest ache when she sees him walk through Pop’s door, sight of so many happy and important moments. The place is empty, save for the two of them. Pop went home at lunch, and Penny, the high schooler who usually works this shift, called in sick this morning. So Veronica donned her old waitress uniform, pleasantly surprised it still fit. Though it was a tad shorter than she would like, and a bit more snug around the bust than she remembers. 

“Hi, Ronnie,” he says, and then looks up at her anxiously. He hasn’t called her that in...God, she doesn’t even remember how long. He’s been very careful to stick to Veronica since she came back. And despite that being her name, it sounds wrong coming from him. She had always been Ronnie to him.

“Hi, Archiekins.” 

He blinks a few times in shock, probably just as surprised to hear that nickname as she is saying it. But it felt right. To be here with him, in Pop’s, of all places, surrounded by all the golden nostalgia of their youth, and memories of time gone by. 

“Long day?” She says, taking the damp cloth and wiping down the counter. He swallows nervously but sits down on a barstool when she smiles and tilts her head to let him know he can relax.

“Yeah. You could say that.” He sits down heavily, and she can see, in the hunch of his shoulders and the tension in his jaw, that Archie Andrews still carries much more than he was ever meant to. 

With a long sigh, Veronica unties her apron and tosses it on the counter. She smiles when she sees Archie digging in, happy to see him eating after what appears to be a hard day on the job.  She’s always admired his work ethic; it’s one of the many things she loved about him. But it always worried her that he took on too much. He was only one person, but he carried the weight of this entire town on his shoulders. Especially after Fred’s death. And it seems like he still does.

He apologizes when he sees her go to the front door and flip the open sign to closed. 

“Ah shit, I’m sorry for holding you up, Ronnie.”

She just shakes her head. “You’re not, Archie, don’t worry,” and she gestures to broom standing in the corner, “I still have to sweep.”

He doesn’t seem convinced but continues to eat. It’s odd to be doing these chores again after so long, but there’s a peace to it, she realizes, one she couldn’t possibly have appreciated all these years ago. There’s a comfort in the mundanity of it all, and it lulls her into a focused trance.

The jukebox is still playing softly, and Veronica finds herself humming the melody. She doesn’t see Archie watching her as she sways along to the beat, broom in hand. She hears him get up and approach her, so she turns around. 

Archie is giving her a look she remembers all too well. It’s the same look he would give her that first week when they were just getting to know each other, and he was in awe of her and everything she did. Discovering her and all that she was.  It makes her feel naked, in a way she hasn’t felt since she fell for him, once upon a time. She breathes deeply and watches his hand as it moves from his pocket to extend toward her, an invitation and an apology all in one.

Against her better judgment, and the voice in her head screaming at her not to tempt fate, she takes his hand. They’re just the same as she remembers. Strong yet gentle, calloused and work-hardened, but soft at the same time.  The song ends and another begins, and she knows this one. The lyrics are all too fitting. And they reveal way too much.

_ No matter what has happened _

_ No matter who's to blame _

_ There'll never be another _

_ Who can make me feel the same _

_ So please believe that I've been true _

_ I still feel the same about you. _

As Ella and the Inkspots croon on, Archie draws her in closer, one hand falling to her back, the other holding hers near his arm. Their fingers link out of habit, muscle memory, and Veronica’s sigh as she lays her head on his chest is shaky.  It reminds her of high school, of gymnasium slow dances, of quiet mornings wrapped together in bed, of locker room escapades after football games, of young love, and all the things she’s spent the last seven years trying to forget. About him and this town and herself, who she used to be before life and circumstance changed her. 

He still smells the same. Old Spice, Tide, and something else she’s never been able to replicate or place; something distinctly Archie. There’s also the faint scent of sweat, and motor oil, she thinks, and maybe fresh-cut wood, if her nose is as good as it used to be. His body is still solid, still strong, but the lines, at least the ones she can feel pressed this close to him, are different, more defined in some places, less in others. His body is that of a man, now. 

She wonders what he’s thinking as they sway back and forth, wonders if he’s noticing these things about her, the subtle changes that come with growing up and getting older. He doesn’t say anything, but she can feel his face moving as he mouths along to the words. Of course, he knows the song, too.

_ Somebody must have told you _

_ The story that you've heard _

_ That I had found another love _

_ But don't believe a word _

_ And though you break my heart in two _

_ I still feel the same about you. _

There’s a longing in her chest, one she hasn’t felt for many years. A yearning for him, for them, and everything they were. It makes her throat thick, her eyes sting with unshed tears she blinks back quickly. She pretends it’s the dust kicking up from her sweeping but...she hasn’t touched the broom in quite a few minutes. They don’t speak, and they keep slow dancing under the fluorescent lights long after the song ends and another begins. It’s nice, to be with him like this again, because she always felt they said the most when they were saying nothing at all. And even after all this time, and everything that happened, she still feels safest and most herself when she’s with Archie.

He finally lets her go, reluctantly, and when they step away from each other, tentative smiles shared and matching nervous glances at the floor, Veronica feels a familiar pull toward him.  He leaves her to the rest of her chores with a quiet goodnight and a lingering glance. Veronica hums Ella Fitzgerald for the rest of the night.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr @aarchiess.


End file.
